Saturday, March 15, 2014

Getting lost in life

Well hello friends and family.

It has been a very long time since I have written. Too long. I thought about it many times but I never seem to have the time.

School has been a cruel joke. I had no idea it would consume so much of my time. While Collin was gone I would find myself up at all hours of the night just trying to get everything done for that week by Saturday morning so on Sunday it could be family day with my sweet little girl. Then Sunday night I would begin my reading for the upcoming week and the business returned. One thing is for sure it made my weeks go by quickly and before I knew it Collin was home.

So much has happened these past 4--5 weeks. Audrey began walking and she is saying more and more words. My favorite this far is teeth. Once she starts you better just brush her teeth or it won't stop. Although if you don't sing the Bubble Guppies brush song she won't cooperate as my dear husband found out yesterday.

Our gangster car keeps dying on me. We either leave the lights on, since we are so used to today's cars where the lights are automatic, or don't get a door shut completely. Twice while Collin was gone I found myself with a dead battery. I finally went out to get one of those boosters and for some reason we can't get the thing to charge. I believe that will be going back to the store this upcoming week.

The USO is going great. I am doing more work than I thought I would but is what I love. It is the important stuff and it makes me remember why I loved my job so much back in CO. The only thing I don't have is the staff under me, but with my busy life right now, that is probably best! This Sunday we are having a program that I kind of put together. I say kind of because it exists already in many locations around the world, but Sunday afternoon will be the first time it has been at our USO. The program is United Through Reading and basically we do all the work for the troops. A soldier can come in and pick out a book and in front of a video camera read that book to their little one back home. After they are done we will mail a copy of the book home, the dvd and maybe even some other little items home to the child child. The child can then remember what its like to have their hero read to them. Oh and the soldiers get home baked goods while they wait or before they leave. (Don't worry I am not baking)
I am so excited to be a part of this but I fear it will be very emotional as well. Audrey and I are so blessed to be here with daddy and some families are not as fortunate.

This July I am going to be a part of the VBS here for our south post Chapel which I am ecstatic about! I meet with one of the ladies in charge next week to go over area's in which I can best fit in. Although I will probably take off the entire week from the USO because VBS and school and mommy hood is enough for this gal! Who knows maybe this can open up other doors!

Next week I am also meeting up with a friend to go to Itewan to have a dress custom made. The military ball is late April and well I am in Korea.... What I most recent enjoy calling the land of the little people. Many people think that in Korea everyone is short. Well I have news for you... they are not. Most of the females are indeed shorter than me but the males are all about my height if not a little taller and it is not overly strange to find a female my height. Now for the little. They are the size of My calf. Therefore everywhere I have gone dressing shopping at I am reminded that need "really big, big, big size" Koreans have no issues in letting you know how they feel about fat Westerners. By the way a fat westerner can be 20lbs smaller than me but we are built different. Our bone structure and the way our weight settles. It is inevitable that if you are a size 8 and higher you will probably be in the same category as me. Heck a size 6 might be pushing it. So to save the frustrations of being called BIG, BIG, BIG every time I go looking for a dress I have chosen to just have one made and be done with it.

I could probably add in some more fun facts from the past month about my awesome weight loss and not so awesome weight gain, or how I have gotten a nanny now, or how I bought a second 9.00 Molly doll for Audrey because I lost the first one and then Collin found it the first day he was back home. Although I am not feeling to comfortable as I am sitting on the bathroom floor of the hotel room typing this at (now) 606am so I do not disturb the rest of my family.

Between Collin being gone and my stress levels hitting the highest of levels I figured why not take a little getaway weekend vacation. Yesterday around 4pm I decided that we would pack up and head out to Seoraksan for the weekend. A beautiful masterpiece of God's work. Amazing beaches (yes way too cold still) and refreshing waterfalls running down mountain sides that I so desperately miss seeing. If you have the time you should seriously google this place. I figured this would be a great getaway to regroup the family, take a breather, and although I will still have some school work to do, shift my priorities more on the family this week than on my studies. As we got tucked into our queen size bed last night (although the hotel staff is positive it is a king... again it must be due to the land of the tiny) Collin and I both agree this was the best idea since we have been here. Although lesson learned is too always make sure you have enough gas in the car prior to the post gas station closing.... what should have cost us 60.00 in fuel ran us 125,000 Won (about 100.00) on the economy. Oh well we live and learn. Hoping the family wakes soon, I am so ready to get my hike on!